SWS survey: Most Filipinos reject same-sex civil unions

MANILA — Most Filipinos are against the enactment of a law that will pave the way for samesex civil union, according to a Social Weather Stations poll published yesterday, the last day of LGBT Pride Month.

According to a March 23-27 poll of 1,200 adults nationwide, 61 percent of Filipinos said they oppose any law that will offer civil unions to same-sex couples.

On the flipside, 22 percent of respondents agreed that civil unions for members of the LGBT community must be allowed and supported. The remaining 16 percent were undecided.

This yielded a net agreement score of -40, classified by SWS as "very weak." Broken down, survey data show opposition to civil union of same-sex couples was dominant in all areas and religion.

Meanwhile, rejection of same-sex civil unions was "strongest" among single men who are "widowed/separated/ divorced."

The survey results were released a few days after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a landmark petition seeking to allow same-sex marriage in the predominantly Catholic Philippines.

On the legislative front, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (Davao del Norte) has filed a bill seeking the recognition of same-sex unions. The measure is still pending at the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality.